WACSI Hosts ARNOVA/AROCSA 2021 Leadership Fellows from Africa
WACSI continues to serve as fertile ground for the cross-fertilisation of knowledge among civil society leaders in West Africa and across the globe.
On 4 May 2021, Leadership Fellows comprising 11 Executive Directors from 7 African countries who are taking part in the ARNOVA and AROCSA 2021 leadership programme visited WACSI’s office in Accra. The goal of the visit was to learn from the Institute’s diverse experiences as a knowledge hub within the civic space in West Africa. Discussions were held in areas of prime benefit to CSOs.
The Association for Research on Non-profit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) and Association for Research on Civil Society in Africa (AROCSA) fellowship has been in existence for years. The fellowship focuses on helping senior civil society organisations (CSOs) leaders to transition through their leadership journey. Over the years, the fellowship has undertaken projects like research, organising symposiums and publishes an academic journal for the civil society sector across the world. Generally, the fellowship focuses on addressing a key issue (leadership transition) affecting civil society sustainability across the globe.
The 2021 cohort of the fellowship, which was scheduled for Indiana University, in the United States of America, as its original venue was changed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19. Hence, Ghana was selected as an alternative destination for the Ford Foundation-sponsored programme. The 11 fellows from 7 African countries were hosted at the University of Ghana Business School as the new venue for the fellowship programme.
The overall objective of the engagement was to provide an opportunity for the fellows to abreast themselves with the state of civil society in West Africa. As part of the visit, the group presented a plaque as an appreciation to WACSI on behalf of Indiana University and the sponsors of the programme.
In line with the objectives of the visit, the discussions centred on areas such as financial sustainability strategies of CSOs in West Africa, the state of civic space in West Africa and technology adoption and support for CSOs in West Africa.
Receiving the plaque on behalf of WACSI, Nana Asantewa Afadzinu, the Executive Director of the Institute said, “on behalf of the board, management, and staff of WACSI and on my behalf, I would like to appreciate the 2021 cohort of ARNOVA/AROCSA Fellows and all the sponsors of the programme for the plaque. We will proudly exhibit it on our walls. Please accept our gratitude’’.
Mohammed Awal Alhassan, a participant from Ghana among the group also expressed his heartfelt gratitude to WACSI for hosting the fellows.
Interested in learning and sharing experiences with WACSI, contact info@wacsi.org
About the author
Robert Oppong is a Ghanaian. He holds Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a speciality in Development Communication. He is a gender and a social activist with great knowledge in participatory communication, international governance and development.
